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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (7 Viewers)

Just finished up "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson. Great book about a man's travels through small town America. Bryson is great with this stuff...very witty.

Also finally picked up the Tipping Point, finally. A good, quick read. Found myself going "huh, that makes sense" a lot. Economics was never my strong suit, so I found this somewhat informative and interesting.

Starting "A Walk in the woods" tonight. Hopefully Bryson doesn't let me down.

 
Dought Man said:
Just finished up "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson. Great book about a man's travels through small town America. Bryson is great with this stuff...very witty.

Also finally picked up the Tipping Point, finally. A good, quick read. Found myself going "huh, that makes sense" a lot. Economics was never my strong suit, so I found this somewhat informative and interesting.

Starting "A Walk in the woods" tonight. Hopefully Bryson doesn't let me down.
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Didn't read that one, but did read Gladwell's other book Blink. Found it applied to all kinds of situations in my life and made for some good conversations.
 
Pole Cat said:
Dought Man said:
Just finished up "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson. Great book about a man's travels through small town America. Bryson is great with this stuff...very witty.

Also finally picked up the Tipping Point, finally. A good, quick read. Found myself going "huh, that makes sense" a lot. Economics was never my strong suit, so I found this somewhat informative and interesting.

Starting "A Walk in the woods" tonight. Hopefully Bryson doesn't let me down.
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Didn't read that one, but did read Gladwell's other book Blink. Found it applied to all kinds of situations in my life and made for some good conversations.
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I enjoyed Blink but thought it was much weaker then the Tipping Point.
 
American Fascists: The Christian Right & The War On America by Chris Hedges

Very interesting read so far.

 
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I finished A Ditrty Job by Christopher Moore in two days. Moore is about the wittiest writer of dialogue I have had the pleasure of reading, perhaps ever.

I am now reading You Suck! another Moore novel and I guarantee I will be reading more from this author.

 
Dought Man said:
Just finished up "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson. Great book about a man's travels through small town America. Bryson is great with this stuff...very witty.Also finally picked up the Tipping Point, finally. A good, quick read. Found myself going "huh, that makes sense" a lot. Economics was never my strong suit, so I found this somewhat informative and interesting. Starting "A Walk in the woods" tonight. Hopefully Bryson doesn't let me down.
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"The Lost Continent" is excellent. His "Neither Here Nor There" (traveling around Europe) and "Notes from a Small Island" (England) are in the same vein, and also excellent."A Walk in the Woods" is entertaining, but the way he ended his "walk" was disappointing. I won't tip off what that was. The only book of Bryson's that I thought was downright boring and unispired was the one about Australia, "In a Sunburned Country." I got fed up with it about two-thirds through and quit reading."Made In America" is another of his that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a history of inventions in America, but it's not dull at all. I found myself constantly saying to my wife, "Hey, honey, listen to this" and then read a passage to her. It's a fun book.
 
whoknew said:
Leaving the Saints Behind -- How I Left the Mormons and Found My Faith -- I just started this. Has anyone read it?
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Interesting book -- I just finished. I thought it was going to be a blistering indictment of LDS, but it really wansn't. It was critical, but more in a sorrowful way.The author gets a little too touchy-feely for my tastes (she is now a "Life Coach") but overall, its well worth reading. Its about a lot more than just LDS -- its about her struggle to find faith within and without religion. Very good read.

 
Currently reading "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco based on suggestions from here and other places. About 60 pages into it, and I'm a little dissapointed. I'm not finding it nearly as captivating as I was expecting. Then again, I thought the same for "An Instance of the Fingerpost" until I got about 200 pages in, then I couldn't put it down.

 
Finished up Catch-22. Another book that I didn't really find myself getting into. It was clever, but there wasn't really ever a strong plot line IMO.

 
"The First American Army"

I have really enjoyed this book. I have enjoyed a lot of the recent books on the Revolution like, "1776", "His Excellency", "Founding Brothers". Where those books were on the politics and leaders of the war......this book is more about the everyday average grunts that served in the Revolution...taken from the diaries and journals of those men that served.

:thumbup:

 
Apologies if this book has been mentioned, but after years of its sitting on my shelf, I just read Being Dead by Jim Crace and recommend it very highly. Because I was at a loss to describe what it was about, I looked it up on wikipedia and came across this nugget that will likely not inspire a lot of people to read it: "The novel dwells heavily on the themes of bodily decomposition and filial bereavement." :thumbup: In any case, check it out and see if it's for you. It's an extremely quick read, for those who care about such things.

If anyone else has read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 
Sleeping With Strangers by Eric Jerome Dickey. A tale of hit men and sex, and this guy can write some sex -steam comes off the pages! On the NY Times bestsellers list.

Warning- it is a 2 part story and part 2 comes out in August.

 
I just finished The Beach House by James Patterson. It had a good beginning, interesting characters, and an ending so ridiculously stupid and unbelievable that it made me wish I hadn't wasted my time.

:popcorn: :useless: :shrug:

 
Prince Myshkin said:
Currently reading "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco based on suggestions from here and other places. About 60 pages into it, and I'm a little dissapointed. I'm not finding it nearly as captivating as I was expecting. Then again, I thought the same for "An Instance of the Fingerpost" until I got about 200 pages in, then I couldn't put it down.
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It's not as good as Fingerpost, imo, but it does get better. I read Rose last summer, and remember struggling through the first 10-20% of it, but the rest was very good. I wondered if that was intentional on Eco's part, almost as if the reader were a monk having to pass through a testing phase.
 
Just finished The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway Read it in high school and was thinking about it the other day so I picked it up at an independant book store. I love Hemingway.

 
KCC said:
I just finished The Beach House by James Patterson. It had a good beginning, interesting characters, and an ending so ridiculously stupid and unbelievable that it made me wish I hadn't wasted my time.

:thumbup: :bag: :)
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I read a few of Patterson's Alex Cross detective novels a few years back. The first two weren't bad, but the third (I think) had an ending so egregiously bad that I've never picked another of his books up again. After subsequently reading that he no longer writes the books (sees himself as more of a brand name, idea rat) I think the decision was justified.I'm not sure you can even call Patterson a hack. Hell, that's offensive to hacks.

 
Finished over the weekend...

An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina

Excellent autobiography. Paul is the hotel manager in the capital city of Rwanda that the movie Hotel Rwanda was based on. I would recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest interest in the Rwandan massacre. His story is remarkable, and the details on what happened and how it was handled are incredible. This is the best autobiography I have ever read. (Every review of Amazon is five-star.)

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The early reviews on Hosseini's second book were, from what I saw, universally good. And I'd have to agree. Once again, he tells a gripping story that takes place in Afghanistan, from the late 70s to now. The Kite Runner is one of my favorite books of the last few years, and I'd place this one just a slight notch behind.

 
igbomb said:
Finished over the weekend...

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The early reviews on Hosseini's second book were, from what I saw, universally good. And I'd have to agree. Once again, he tells a gripping story that takes place in Afghanistan, from the late 70s to now. The Kite Runner is one of my favorite books of the last few years, and I'd place this one just a slight notch behind.
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I read the Kite Runner this weekend. I agree that it is excellent and highly recommend it.
 
The Shining by Stephen King

Love this book. I first read it several years ago, then picked it up again last weekend. Quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read. There is no doubt that King's best work was done in the late 70s, early 80s.

 
"the road" by cormac mccarthy was both horrifying and inspiring, one of the more unique reads i've had in a long, long time. truly an original.

 
Currently reading Washington's God by Michael Novak and Jana Novak.

It's about the faith of George Washington and how it guided him through his life. Basically, a short paper (it's a few hundred pages) on whether or not Washington was a Christian, and how he exercised that faith.

I'm not finding the religious aspect of the book very compelling, partly because I've read anough about it already and they aren't telling me anything new. But the insight into Washington himself as a whole has been well done.

 
I just finished Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. For those who don't know it's what 300 was based on.

I haven't seen 300 yet, but from what I've read on Wiki, when 300 was in pre-production it was going to be more like Gates of Fire and was switched once the producers came across the graphic novel. I'm sure I'll enjoy 300 when I see it/read the graphic novel, but I would really like to see Gates of Fire made into a movie, just because you grow to really identify with many of the characters and getting the historical perspective would also be very interesting.

 
Leo Scanlon said:
Dought Man said:
Just finished up "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson. Great book about a man's travels through small town America. Bryson is great with this stuff...very witty.Also finally picked up the Tipping Point, finally. A good, quick read. Found myself going "huh, that makes sense" a lot. Economics was never my strong suit, so I found this somewhat informative and interesting. Starting "A Walk in the woods" tonight. Hopefully Bryson doesn't let me down.
Click to expand...
"The Lost Continent" is excellent. His "Neither Here Nor There" (traveling around Europe) and "Notes from a Small Island" (England) are in the same vein, and also excellent."A Walk in the Woods" is entertaining, but the way he ended his "walk" was disappointing. I won't tip off what that was. The only book of Bryson's that I thought was downright boring and unispired was the one about Australia, "In a Sunburned Country." I got fed up with it about two-thirds through and quit reading."Made In America" is another of his that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a history of inventions in America, but it's not dull at all. I found myself constantly saying to my wife, "Hey, honey, listen to this" and then read a passage to her. It's a fun book.
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Walk in the woods is laugh out loud funny in many spots though, especially the first 80 pages. I agree though, it's not his best book. Lost Continent has been my favorite thus far, and I am currently reading his new book: "Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid". More for baby boomers, but I am still getting a kick out of it. Bryson is growing to be my favorite author. His writing style keeps you interested, even when he's not talking about anything of significance.Still have to check out, "Made in America". Will pick that up next.
 
Currently reading:

Keys To Parenting The Gifted Child - Sylvia B. Rimm

This book is basically common sense. I was hoping it would give me some enlightenment on how to deal with my gifted son. I wouldn't really suggest it to any other parents.

The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene (referred to me by Bueno)

I only read the first couple of pages of this book so far. It has my interest peaked but I'm just waiting until I get to the part where my head hurts.

 
reaper's gale - a malazan book of the fallen (#7), steven erikson

i have been a big sf/fantasy fan for years. erikson's malazan book of the fallen series is by far the best i've read in this genre. scope is absolutely huge, character development is detailed and 'twists' abound. a seemingly minor reference/statement/action in one book turns out to have profound implications one or two books down stream. i've just finished book 7 (funny how those dang things get published in england before the us - thank god bagabook/amazon imports the things...). i've read books 1-6 numerous times. time to start over with book one and finish with 7. except for the 1st one (only 680+), most of these books are 900-1100 pages long. takes an entire day to read just one... :D :shock: :D

my shelves are full of books by zelazny, cherryh, jordan, williams, kerr, de lint, tepper, robberson, morecock, goodkind, friedman, bear, rawn, etc. erikson is something truly special..

if you are a sf-fantasy fan, do yourself a favor and pick these books up. you will not be disappointed...

 
igbomb said:
The Shining by Stephen King

Love this book. I first read it several years ago, then picked it up again last weekend. Quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read. There is no doubt that King's best work was done in the late 70s, early 80s.
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I think it might be the scariest book ever written.I first read the book when I was 15 years old. One afternoon I got so scared I ended up calling my dad to see if he was coming home soon.

Right now I'm reading Shadowplay, the second in Tad Williams' new trilogy. Pretty good. He's one of the few fantasy writers I can stomach.

 
shining path said:
igbomb said:
The Shining by Stephen King

Love this book. I first read it several years ago, then picked it up again last weekend. Quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read. There is no doubt that King's best work was done in the late 70s, early 80s.
Click to expand...
I think it might be the scariest book ever written.I first read the book when I was 15 years old. One afternoon I got so scared I ended up calling my dad to see if he was coming home soon.

Right now I'm reading Shadowplay, the second in Tad Williams' new trilogy. Pretty good. He's one of the few fantasy writers I can stomach.
Click to expand...
just finished that on, this week, myself. it seems a lot of people find his 'deliberate' pace off-putting. i've enjoyed his other series (memmory, sorrow and thorn). otherland was alittle harder to get into - have the sendond book but haven't read it yet.if you like williams, try some of c.j. cherryh's stuff (the 'dreaming tree', which is two former books 'the dreamstone' and 'the tree of swords and jewels' in one volume and the 'fortress' series {fortress of dragons, fortress of owls, fortess of eagles, fortress in the eye of time, and fortress of ice}). cherryh also some some very good 'hard' sf (the faded sun series).

out of curiosity, who else do you read a lot?

 
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison.

Actually finished Book 1 through 5 (For A Few Demons More).

Rachel Morgan leaves her employment group, I.S., being joined by a pixie (Jenks) and living vampire (Ivy) to form her own group to retrieve misbehaving supernaturals. A thoroughly fun read taking place in Cincinnati with supernaturals co-existing with humans. The characters are fun and the complexity of the relationships, esp. Rachel and Ivy, make it a cut above in the Sci-Fi genre.

 
nephilim said:
shining path said:
igbomb said:
The Shining by Stephen King

Love this book. I first read it several years ago, then picked it up again last weekend. Quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read. There is no doubt that King's best work was done in the late 70s, early 80s.
Click to expand...
I think it might be the scariest book ever written.I first read the book when I was 15 years old. One afternoon I got so scared I ended up calling my dad to see if he was coming home soon.

Right now I'm reading Shadowplay, the second in Tad Williams' new trilogy. Pretty good. He's one of the few fantasy writers I can stomach.
Click to expand...
just finished that on, this week, myself. it seems a lot of people find his 'deliberate' pace off-putting. i've enjoyed his other series (memmory, sorrow and thorn). otherland was alittle harder to get into - have the sendond book but haven't read it yet.if you like williams, try some of c.j. cherryh's stuff (the 'dreaming tree', which is two former books 'the dreamstone' and 'the tree of swords and jewels' in one volume and the 'fortress' series {fortress of dragons, fortress of owls, fortess of eagles, fortress in the eye of time, and fortress of ice}). cherryh also some some very good 'hard' sf (the faded sun series).

out of curiosity, who else do you read a lot?
Click to expand...
I see Cherryh's books all the time while perusing in bookstores, but I've never read one. I'll give it a shot.I read more sf than fantasy. I've read too many fantasy books where the author was more of a fan of the genre than a real writer (David Eddings comes to mind). I recently tried to get into some of L.E. Modesitt's stuff, but I found the first Recluse book a bit dull. The writing was very good, though.

Williams is by far my favorite fantasy writer, though. I liked MS&T, really liked Otherland (though I was disappointed by the ending), and enjoyed War of the Flowers. I haven't heard criticisms of Williams' pacing, but I like how he takes his time in developing his characters and stories.

BTW, isn't there a thread for sf/fantasy book discussion? I seem to remember posting in one a few months ago.

 
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Reading "Blindness" by Jose Saramago. Excellent so far...Saramago is one of my favorites.

Just finished The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson. Very disappointing. Great concept, good beginning to the book...but wandered in the middle and ended with a whimper.

 
tick dog said:
"the road" by cormac mccarthy was both horrifying and inspiring, one of the more unique reads i've had in a long, long time. truly an original.
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Should get this one from the library this week (on the wait list right now).I've read No Country for Old Men and really liked it, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one.
 
igbomb said:
tick dog said:
"the road" by cormac mccarthy was both horrifying and inspiring, one of the more unique reads i've had in a long, long time. truly an original.
Click to expand...
Should get this one from the library this week (on the wait list right now).I've read No Country for Old Men and really liked it, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one.
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Go with Blood Meridian while you're waiting. Awesome book. Seriously awesome.
 
shining path said:
nephilim said:
shining path said:
igbomb said:
The Shining by Stephen King

Love this book. I first read it several years ago, then picked it up again last weekend. Quite possibly the scariest book I've ever read. There is no doubt that King's best work was done in the late 70s, early 80s.
Click to expand...
I think it might be the scariest book ever written.I first read the book when I was 15 years old. One afternoon I got so scared I ended up calling my dad to see if he was coming home soon.

Right now I'm reading Shadowplay, the second in Tad Williams' new trilogy. Pretty good. He's one of the few fantasy writers I can stomach.
Click to expand...
just finished that on, this week, myself. it seems a lot of people find his 'deliberate' pace off-putting. i've enjoyed his other series (memmory, sorrow and thorn). otherland was alittle harder to get into - have the sendond book but haven't read it yet.if you like williams, try some of c.j. cherryh's stuff (the 'dreaming tree', which is two former books 'the dreamstone' and 'the tree of swords and jewels' in one volume and the 'fortress' series {fortress of dragons, fortress of owls, fortess of eagles, fortress in the eye of time, and fortress of ice}). cherryh also some some very good 'hard' sf (the faded sun series).

out of curiosity, who else do you read a lot?
Click to expand...
I see Cherryh's books all the time while perusing in bookstores, but I've never read one. I'll give it a shot.I read more sf than fantasy. I've read too many fantasy books where the author was more of a fan of the genre than a real writer (David Eddings comes to mind). I recently tried to get into some of L.E. Modesitt's stuff, but I found the first Recluse book a bit dull. The writing was very good, though.

Williams is by far my favorite fantasy writer, though. I liked MS&T, really liked Otherland (though I was disappointed by the ending), and enjoyed War of the Flowers. I haven't heard criticisms of Williams' pacing, but I like how he takes his time in developing his characters and stories.

BTW, isn't there a thread for sf/fantasy book discussion? I seem to remember posting in one a few months ago.
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There is one, authored by Pick I believe. There are some excellent discussions on the genre in there.
 
nephilim said:
reaper's gale - a malazan book of the fallen (#7), steven erikson

i have been a big sf/fantasy fan for years. erikson's malazan book of the fallen series is by far the best i've read in this genre. scope is absolutely huge, character development is detailed and 'twists' abound. a seemingly minor reference/statement/action in one book turns out to have profound implications one or two books down stream. i've just finished book 7 (funny how those dang things get published in england before the us - thank god bagabook/amazon imports the things...). i've read books 1-6 numerous times. time to start over with book one and finish with 7. except for the 1st one (only 680+), most of these books are 900-1100 pages long. takes an entire day to read just one... :) :lmao: :D

my shelves are full of books by zelazny, cherryh, jordan, williams, kerr, de lint, tepper, robberson, morecock, goodkind, friedman, bear, rawn, etc. erikson is something truly special..

if you are a sf-fantasy fan, do yourself a favor and pick these books up. you will not be disappointed...
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How does it compare to George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series? That is pretty much the best I've encountered in the genre so I'd be intrigued by any writer that was comparable in their character development and story twists as that is one of Martin's strongest suits.
 
I just finished Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer (no, I'd never read it before) and I loved it.

Now I'm starting Hew Strachan's The First World War, which I got interested in due to the History Channel's miniseries that was based upon Strachan's books. Good read so far.

 
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